NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Epic Sciences announced today that it has partnered with four major Canadian breast cancer centers on a clinical trial to see if the firm's blood test can be used to predict the risk of late recurrence of metastatic breast cancer in female patients.

As part of the agreement, Epic will donate its No Cell Left Behind circulating tumor analysis platform to the clinical trial. The consortium will enroll about 1,000 patients over three years.

Epic's technology detects individual CTCs in a patient's bloodstream, and the study could help validate the test and determine if the presence of CTCs can predict the recurrence of lethal breast cancer, the San Diego-based company said.

"Millions of women, already treated for localized breast cancer, are in remission but are still at risk of a clinical recurrence of metastatic breast cancer," University of Toronto professor and project leader Pamela Goodwin said in a statement. "The potential for a blood test to help identify which patients need to be closely monitored and considered for earlier therapy is an unmet need facing breast cancer treatment management."

In addition to Epic, Hold'Em for Life Charity Challenge and the Breast Cancer Research Foundation are supporting the clinical trial.

"Clinically validating that our blood test can identify which breast cancer patients will be at risk of recurrence is an incredibly valuable aid in our pursuit to improve outcomes and well-being," Epic Sciences Chief of Medical Innovation Ryan Dittamore said in a statement. "It can also help inform the millions of women being treated for breast cancer that they are not at risk of metastasis."

In October, Palmetto GBA issued a positive final local coverage determination for Epic's Onoctype DX AR-V7 Nucleus Detect test, which uses the No Cell Left Behind platform. In addition, Epic raised $52 million in series E funding in September to further develop a portfolio of new predictive tests based on the technology.